NOVPUB
Chapter 251: Chapter 241 Feeding Milk
"Brother Dashuan finally did a good deed, thank goodness for the two chickens and the basket of eggs he brought over yesterday. Otherwise, what would you have eaten these past few days?" Dashuan’s wife brought a bowl of thick millet porridge to Shen Yunfang, which was slightly reddened from the brown sugar she had stirred in, and it contained two peeled eggs. "Come on, eat up before it gets cold."
Early that morning, she had rented a stove at the cafeteria for three days and used the millet Dashuan had brought to cook a pot of fragrant and smooth porridge. Before she left, she also used half a chicken to stew a pot of chicken soup, asking the cafeteria’s chef to keep an eye on it. Only then did she return to bring Yunfang her meal.
Shen Yunfang had been lucid after leaving the delivery room yesterday, and once she was pushed to the ward, she had Dashuan’s wife lock the door so she could cuddle her child, and all three of them managed to catch up on some sleep.
Yunfang had no idea what time Dashuan’s wife had left that morning, but she woke up only after Dashuan’s wife had returned with the postpartum meal.
The little fellow by her side had been sleeping all along, with his small eyes tightly shut and his tiny mouth pursed, looking incredibly adorable.
"Alright, stop staring and eat your food. You can look at him after you’re done," Dashuan’s wife teased, seeing how Yunfang was engrossed in gazing at her son.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Shen Yunfang took the basin and began to eat slowly, spoonful by spoonful. "Sister-in-law, I really have you to thank for yesterday. Otherwise, who knows what would have become of me and the child."
She was referring to yesterday’s incident when Dashuan’s wife cushioned her fall, which potentially saved her from complications far more serious than a premature birth if she had fallen directly to the ground.
"Oh, why speak so formally? You were right by my side; how could I just watch you fall?" Dashuan’s wife brushed it off. She happened to be there and was strong enough to handle the fall. Yunfang, with her big belly, would not have been so fortunate if she had actually hit the ground. "I’m telling you, these city folks have no conscience. It wasn’t until that woman showed up yesterday that you went into labor so early. You remember when she abandoned her kid and we helped look after the child for a few days? Our kindness was wasted like feeding a dog. Did you see how she didn’t even say ’thank you’ when she came back but was thinking about stealing our things in the dark of night? Is she even human?"
Talking about this made Dashuan’s wife angry, as their kind intentions had been met with such ingratitude.
"Don’t be mad; wasn’t their whole family taken to the police station?" Shen Yunfang said quietly.
With so many witnesses, there was no escaping the theft charges for that couple, who likely faced several years of jail time.
"Ah, I do feel sorry for the child," Dashuan’s wife sighed.
"It might not be so bad; maybe the child would be better off away from her parents," Shen Yunfang had noticed yesterday. The child’s extreme thinness wasn’t necessarily a sign of poverty, judging by what the man was wearing, but the fact that the child was still starved, and the mother was crying so miserably suggested the root of the problem lay with the man. That was why she thought that maybe, just maybe, the little girl would have a chance at life away from such parents.
"What do you mean?" Dashuan’s wife hadn’t fully grasped the idea.
Shen Yunfang had yet to explain her thoughts when the little one beside her began to fuss with pursed lips.
"Oh dear, what’s wrong with the little guy now?" Dashuan’s wife got to the child before Yunfang could, lifting the little blanket, "You eat, I’ll check on the baby."
"Alright, sister-in-law, see if the child has wet himself, I’ll just finish these last bites of porridge." Shen Yunfang continued eating, now with noticeably increased speed as she picked up the basin she had intended to place on the nightstand.
Brother Dashuan’s wife placed her hand under the baby’s bottom, feeling the wetness, "He’s peed, and what a big pee it was, it even moistened the bedding a bit."
Experienced in changing diapers, Brother Dashuan’s wife swiftly removed the wet cloth wrapped around the baby’s bottom and pulled over a dry one. Holding the baby’s chubby little legs, she deftly inserted the clean cloth beneath him in one smooth motion.
Shen Yunfang watched anxiously from the side. It was bitterly cold, and the temperature indoors was barely in the teens. Uncovering the baby like that, could he catch a cold? And his little legs were not even as thick as her arms; could handling them like this be okay? However, her sister-in-law’s movements were indeed quick, and she watched closely, ready to learn for the future.
Brother Dashuan’s wife, unaware of Yunfang’s thoughts, snugly rewrapped the baby and changed the slightly wet mattress pad before placing the child back on the bed.
Once on the bed, the child didn’t continue to sleep but waved his little hands around with his eyes closed, sucking in the air with his mouth.
"Oh my, the little one is hungry," said Brother Dashuan’s wife, her voice full of cheer as she tapped the baby’s lip with her forefinger. The sucking mouth immediately followed her gesture. "Come on, eat up, it’s time for us to feed you. We must make sure our Dabao has a full meal."
Shen Yunfang’s heart melted at the sight of her son’s endearing little figure. She really wanted to forgo eating and feed her child first, but she knew that if she didn’t eat well herself, there would be no milk for the baby. So, for her child’s sake, she had to eat properly first.
She quickly polished off the bowl of millet porridge and slowly lay down as instructed by Brother Dashuan’s wife, with the baby in her arms.
The baby sucked on her nipple a few times with effort, then spat it out, his little face turning red with frustration before he began to cry loudly.
"Sister-in-law, what’s wrong with him, why isn’t he eating? Do I not have any milk?" asked Yunfang in a panic, unsure what to do with her hands as the baby’s crying started to bring tears to her eyes as well.
It’s always inexperienced, vulnerable, and filled with nervousness and overflowing motherly love for a first-time mother; it’s all understandable.
"It’s okay, it’s okay, it might just be that the nipple is blocked because it’s his first time eating. He just needs to suck a few times to get it flowing," comforted Brother Dashuan’s wife. "You must hold back, you can’t cry during your confinement period. Do you want to harm your eyes? Besides, you mustn’t get anxious and upset, or the milk will really be gone."
Hearing this, Yunfang quickly took several deep breaths to suppress the urge to cry building up in her nose. She didn’t mean to cry; somehow, seeing her baby cry made it hard to hold back tears.
"How about we mix some formula for the baby first?" Seeing the pitiable state of her child, her heart truly ached.
"No, if he starts on formula, what will you do if the nipple is still blocked and the milk doesn’t flow? And do you intend to keep feeding him formula forever?" Brother Dashuan’s wife disagreed, shaking her head.
In her heart, Yunfang wanted to say that she could afford to feed him formula indefinitely, but although she had never had or raised children before, she was aware that infants are better off drinking breast milk, which builds immunity and reduces the likelihood of illness. Formula should only be used as a last resort.
After much effort, the pair finally managed to feed the baby and he began to breastfeed. However, after a few sips, the milk was gone and he let go of the nipple and began to cry loudly again.
Only then did Brother Dashuan’s wife prepare a bottle of formula to tide the child over while Shen Yunfang fed him and she went to fetch chicken soup from the canteen. Yunfang really needed to replenish her body or she might indeed struggle to produce enough milk.
